


Inevitability

by st_mick



Series: Niffler [24]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Torchwood
Genre: A new character with an old name, But it really does feel like it was inevitable, Charms and Apparation and Portkeys - oh my!, CoE - Days Four and Five - Reimagined, He just walked right in and sat down in front of me, How was I to resist?, M/M, Oh Jack - too little too late?, This wasn't what I originally planned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 10:28:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18809332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st_mick/pseuds/st_mick
Summary: Now he realized what Ianto planned.  What he had somehow known would happen, all along...





	Inevitability

Toshiko had already relayed the recordings thus far to the Queen’s assistant.  The Queen herself had requested to watch the events as they unfolded from here, so Tosh had set up a special relay to Her Majesty’s laptop.

Despite the circumstances, Tosh was having great fun chatting with the Queen, who was concerned that ‘that pretty Mr. Jones’ looked unwell.  She was otherwise pleased with how Jack and Ianto had acquitted themselves, and blamed autocorrect when Green was described as a wanker.

When Jack and Ianto arrived at Thames House, Jack greeted the young lieutenant waiting at the door.  “How are we doing on the evacuation?”

“Most people have been cleared.  We’re doing a room-by-room sweep, now.”  He shifted, then said, “Thank you for ordering the evac, Sir.  Seemed wrong to keep on, with that alien here, but it didn’t seem to occur to anyone to get the civilians out, at least.”

Jack clapped him on the shoulder.  “Once you’ve confirmed the building is empty, lock it down.  From the outside.  The only ones who should be left in the building are the alien and the two of us.  No one gets back in until we give the all clear.  Understood?  Good.  Here,” he dug out a spare comm.  “Tosh, I’m giving our spare comm to UNIT’s Lieutenant…”

“Stewart, Sir.”

Jack came up short.  “I know a Stewart from UNIT,” he grinned.  “Any relation?”

Lieutenant Ali Lethbridge-Stewart grinned.  “Grandad speaks very highly of you, Captain.”

“Oh, that’s excellent.  Heart set on UNIT, Lieutenant?  Cardiff is a nice place to live, you know.”

“Time and place, Sir,” Ianto reminded.

“Of course,” Jack grinned again.  “Tosh, you get that?  Lieutenant Stewart has the spare comm.  He’ll let us know when everyone is out of the building and he’s locked it down.”

“Got it,” Tosh said.

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant snapped off a quick salute and went on his way.

“How about that?” Jack laughed.  Then he turned to Ianto.  “You ready?”

“Basement first, Sir,” Ianto replied.  “That will give the lieutenant time to finish his sweep of the building.

“Right.”

They headed down and found Mr. Dekker in his lair, yet to be evacuated.  He seemed to be monitoring some readings.  Startled at their abrupt entrance, he turned, saying, “I said I am not evacuating.  Now run along.”

"Someone is knocking on your firewall," Ianto said, his voice rough.  He raised his gun and pointed it at Decker, releasing the safety.  "Let her in."

For a moment, it took all of Jack's focus to keep the entirety of his blood supply from succumbing to gravity.

Dekker looked outraged, but then relented.  A few keystrokes, and Tosh’s voice over the comms said, “I’m in.”

“Now,” Ianto said, indicating with the gun that Dekker should get moving.  “Get out.”

“But…”

“And you might just want to keep running,” Jack grinned unpleasantly.

They stepped out of the room, and Jack locked the door with his vortex manipulator.

“Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me!” Tosh exclaimed over the comms.

“What?”

“The 4-5-6 sent specifications for the chamber.  They included a system for keeping their air at the proper proportions and circulating regularly.”

“Makes sense,” Jack frowned as they stepped onto the elevator.

“Yes, but there’s a backflow built in that feeds directly into the building’s ventilation system.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Ianto muttered.  “That would allow the alien in the chamber to…”

“To release toxins into the entire building’s air supply.  Yes,” Tosh griped.  “And they just _built_ it to these specifications!”

Ianto turned to Jack.  “Thoughtless or stupid?”

“Arrogant,” Jack replied. 

“Even Yvonne wouldn’t have done that,” Ianto sniffed.  “There’s arrogance, and then there’s arse blistering stupidity.”

Jack snorted.  “Toshiko, Love, can you shut down the backflow?”

“I can, but only at the first junction.  The meeting room will still be vulnerable.  Maybe hazmat suits?”

“That’s what the glasses are for,” Ianto gave a small smile.  “I think I know what spell Luna means for me to cast.  Tosh, remember.  If I call your name, cut the cameras, okay?”

“I will, Ianto.  No one will see.”

“Good.  I don’t trust them in COBRA with this.”

“I don’t blame you,” she replied.

“Sirs, the building is secure,” Lieutenant Stewart reported.

“Oh.  Did you hear that?  He called me ‘sir’,” Ianto chuckled, then sobered.  “I don’t like it.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Jack grinned at Ianto.

As they stepped off the elevator, Tosh said, “Okay, I’ve made all of the modifications.  Good luck.”

“Thanks, Tosh,” both Jack and Ianto said as they made to enter the chamber.

“Ianto, can I just say,” Jack began, his hand hovering on the doorknob.

“No, Jack.  You can’t,” Ianto answered.  He ran a hand over his face, momentarily allowing his grief and fatigue to show.  “Time and place, Sir.”

Jack sighed and opened the door.

***

Jack and Ianto stood before the alien’s chamber.  Ianto had on the welding goggles and felt just the tiniest bit silly.  That is, until he cast his _Legilimens_ spell as Jack began to speak.

“I’m Captain Jack Harkness, and I’ve dealt with you lot, before.  I’m here to explain why this time you’re not getting what you want.”

“You yielded in the past,” the alien splattered against the glass.

“And don’t I know it,” Jack replied.  “I was there in 1965.  I was part of that trade.  And that's why I'm never gonna let it happen again.”

“Explain.”

“There's a saying here on Earth that a very old, very wise friend of mine taught me.  An injury to one is an injury to all.  And when people act according to that philosophy, the human race is the finest species in the universe.”

“Never mind the philosophy,” Ianto said.  “What he's saying is, you're not getting one solitary, single child.  The deal is off.”

“Hey.  I like the philosophy,” Jack pouted.

“So I gathered,” Ianto smirked.

“You yielded in the past.  You will do so again.”

“In the past, the numbers were so small they could be kept secret.  But this time that is not gonna happen.  Because we've recorded everything.  All the negotiations, everything the politicians said, everything that happened in this room.  And those tapes will be released to the public unless you leave this planet for good.”

“You yielded in the past.  You will do so again.”

“When people find out the truth, you will have over six billion angry human beings taking up arms to fight you.  That might be a fight you think you can win, but at the end of it, the human race in defense of its children will fight to the death.  And if I have to lead them into battle, then I will.”

“This is fascinating, isn't it?” the alien said.

Ianto looked at Jack and regretted once more that their bond was gone.  But Jack understood his look.  The 4-5-6 knew about Clem, somehow.

The alien continued speaking.  “The human infant mortality rate is twenty-nine thousand, one hundred and fifty-eight deaths per day.  Every three seconds, a child dies. The human response is to accept and adapt.”

“Yeah, well we're adapting right now, all right.  And we're making this a war.”

“Toshiko,” Ianto whispered. 

“Done,” she replied.

He waved his hand just as the alien spoke.

“Then the fight begins.”

“We're waiting for your reply,” Jack said, turning his head first one way, then another, trying to figure out what Ianto had done, and – more importantly – why.

“Action has been taken.”

Alarms began to go off, and the doors to the chamber slammed shut.

“What have you done?” Jack asked, partly to Ianto, partly to the alien.

“You wanted a demonstration of war. A virus has been released. It will kill everyone in the building.”

“Yeah, about that,” Ianto spread his hand before the tank.  “ _Finestra_ ,” he muttered.  The tank shattered.

The creature shrieked.

“Jack, something’s happening.  They’re sending some sort of signal.  Clem is being affected.”

Jack shot the alien.

“ _Relashio_ ,” Ianto uttered, and the child was quickly released from the alien’s still body.

“Clem’s dead,” Gwen shouted down the comms.

“Shit,” Jack shouted, kicking the alien.  Then he took a deep breath and turned to Ianto.  “Mind telling me what’s on our heads?”

“Bubble-head charm.  Enjoying your fresh, virus-free air, Sir?”

Jack grinned.  “Have I told you lately that you’re a genius?”

“You may not think so, for long,” Ianto said, his face grim.

“What?”

“I’m going after the others.”

“What?” Tosh called out.

“How?” Lieutenant Stewart asked.

“Tosh?  I’ll portkey the kids directly to the hub.”

“We’ll be ready,” she said.

Jack grinned and took Ianto’s hand.  “What are we waiting for?”

“Opium den, here we come,” Ianto said, and turned on the spot.

***

The air was thick with the poisonous combination of gases that was beginning to burn their skin.  The children must have been treated with something to keep that from happening to them.  Ianto idly thought that they should have worn hazmat suits, after all.  Visibility was less than ideal, but they could see each alien, well enough. 

The drug den itself was like any other flop house.  The aliens were lying around, tripping their tits off; they hardly noticed Ianto’s and Jack’s arrival.  Ianto vaguely wondered if the aliens actually had tits, but then he became distracted.  He killed five of the aliens using the killing curse, while Jack killed the other six, using a silenced Glock that Ianto had given him before they left the hub.

“We could just destroy the ship, while we’re here,” Jack said.

“Except we don’t know if they have any open connections with the children.  I don’t think we can chance it.  We’ll have to find another way.”

“It’ll have to be fast.  I doubt we’ll have more than a half hour after they discover this.”

“Well, maybe you can do a bit of sabotage, to slow down their response,” Ianto nodded to a control panel near the door. 

Jack grinned and headed to the panel, doing several things to lock down the system, at least for a short while.

“Don’t suppose you can make it blow up, at some given point,” Ianto said.

“Should’ve known you’d have a plan,” Jack griped good-naturedly.  “I can override its navigation program.  Tell it to head for the sun if any sort of emergency triggers the autopilot.”

“Sounds like an excellent idea, Sir.”

Ianto performed the _Relashio_ spell on each child, and then helped Jack carry them to the center of the room.  As soon as the eleven children were gathered, Ianto created a portkey, using a length of metal that he found along one of the walls.  Just as the portkey activated, sending the children to the hub, two aliens entered the den.

Jack shot one just as it knocked Ianto in the head hard enough to break the charm.  In its death throes, the alien splattered Ianto in the face with something completely vile.  As best he could, he spat out what he hadn’t inhaled or swallowed, then quickly cast another charm.  Jack shot the second alien, but it stabbed him with something before it fell, and Jack was dead before he hit the floor.

Ianto took Jack’s hand and disapparated.  They landed in the middle of the chamber in Thames House.  He quickly created another portkey, pressing the child’s hand and one of the alien’s tentacles onto it.  Then he activated his comms through the charm. 

“Tosh?” his voice was almost unrecognizable.

“Ianto?  Are you all right?”

“Sending the alien and twelfth child to you, now.  I… I’m sorry.”  None of the children had survived being separated from the aliens.

“Understood,” her voice was soft. 

The portkey activated. 

“Can you monitor toxin levels in the building and let the lieutenant know when it’s safe to enter?”

“Will do.”

“Lieutenant Stewart?”

“Sir?”

“We’re heading back to Cardiff to finish this, now.  If you’re asked, do you know how we’re traveling?”

“No idea, Sir.  You were just gone when we re-entered the building.”

“Good man.  You know, Jack was serious about that job.”

“Yes, Sir,” Ianto heard the grin in the young man’s voice.

He gathered Jack in his arms and turned on the spot.  When they arrived in the hub, he collapsed under the dead man’s weight. 

“Jack!” Gwen cried, running to them.

Ianto coughed, trying to hide the blood.  He managed to stand as Mickey and Owen carried Jack to the sofa while Gwen fussed.  Ianto grasped Donna by the forearm.  “He doesn’t like waking alone.  But he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want me there.  Could you…”

“Of course,” she said, startled by his appearance.  She waved Owen over.

“He’s fine, just got stabbed, a bit.  He’ll revive in no time.  You sent me a lot of work, Wizard Boy,” he stopped talking when he got a good look at Ianto.  “Shit.  What happened?”

“Bubble-head charm got popped.  Got slimed as a special bonus.”  He leaned heavily on Owen and Mickey as they helped him down the steps to the med-bay.  There was barely room to walk, for the bodies.

“Hey, Mickey, get Gwen and Rhys to help you finish taking the kids down to the morgue, and put them in the freezer with Clem until I can get to them.  Then maybe shove the alien over.  I may need to look at that one as soon as I finish up with our wizard, here.”

“There’s not much time,” Ianto said as Mickey hurried away.  He began coughing.  “Owen, I swallowed the stuff, and breathed their atmosphere.”  He started pointing frantically at the bin.

Owen shoved a basin under Ianto’s chin as he heaved.  For the first time in days, he was bringing something up besides bile, but Owen was dismayed to see that it was actually part of his stomach lining.

“Oh gods,” Ianto gasped, the pain paralyzing.  He spat blood, then looked at Owen, who was holding his scanner, reading the results.  He huffed.  “Give it to me straight, Doc.  How long have I got?”

“Ianto,” Owen whispered, clasping Ianto’s shoulder.

“I know,” he replied, dropping the sarcasm.  He looked up the stairs.  “They say I’ll come back.  But… first time.  A little worried I might not.  If I don’t… you’ll all look after him, yeah?”

“Of course we will.  But you’ll be fine.  You two, you’re bound now, right?”

“Except our bond broke three days ago, didn’t it?”

“What?” Owen felt his stomach drop to his feet.

“I don’t know what that might mean,” Ianto whispered.  “Owen…  I’m scared.”  Ianto sniffed.

“Hey.  None of that.  You’ll frighten the women.”  He quickly wiped away Ianto’s bloody tears.  “Let’s get this shit off of you, yeah?  Then you can go have a lie down and let yourself heal.”

He looked at how the material from Ianto’s clothes was fused to his skin, in places.  Saw the blistered chemical burns.  He grabbed a salve and some saline so he could try to begin separating the material from Ianto’s skin.

“This isn’t over, Owen.  And now there’s only one way to stop them.”  He sighed.  “Just give me as many painkillers as you can without impairing my magic.”

“Good thing we made those calculations,” Owen muttered.  He pulled up his notes and prepared an injection.  “Ianto, this is going to get bad.  Please, let me just knock you out.  You’ve done enough.”

Ianto shook his head.  “I’m the one to do this next bit, Owen.  Promise to take care of him.  Please?”

“I promise, Ianto.  I promise.  But you’re going to be fine.”

“Owen?”  Ianto whispered.  ”I can’t see.”

“Let’s flush that shit out of your eyes, then we’ll get it off of your face.”

He worked quickly, first administering the painkiller, then flushing Ianto’s eyes and gently cleaning his face, and finally doing what he could for the burns.

***

Within ten minutes, Jack revived.  Donna tried to soothe him, but he missed Ianto’s strong arms, his scent, his soothing voice.  He was more afraid than normal, not knowing where his beloved was.  “Where’s Ianto?” he asked.  “He always stays with me.”

“He thought you might not want that, the way you pushed him away, after Clem shot you,” Donna answered, tired of him behaving like a prat. 

Jack had the overwhelming urge to kick himself.

“Besides, Owen needed to check him out,” she added, afraid her voice would give away her fear for her teammate.

Jack didn’t need to hear the barest hint of a quaver in her voice to become very, very afraid.

***

Once the kids and Clem had been tucked away in the morgue freezer, Tosh had Mickey and Rhys help her build a transmission platform, using some items she’d quickly located in the archives.  They had all of the components, so it had only taken about ten minutes to construct.  She stared at it, terrified of what needed to happen, next. 

Ianto walked to her workstation, leaning heavily on Owen. 

“Ianto?” Jack asked.  He wasn’t certain what terrified him more – the grim look on Owen’s face, or the grey, pained look on Ianto’s. 

“Not much time, Sir,” Ianto said, avoiding Jack’s face.  Mostly because he couldn’t see it.  His sight was all but gone.

Jack refocused.  “Tosh, what have you got?”

“We can cycle the wavelength back at them,” she said. 

“A constructive wave?” Jack asked. 

“Yes.  Clem’s mind was synced to the 4-5-6.  I don’t think they would have killed him unless the connection could hurt them, somehow.  I lifted the sound they made when he died.  I think if we copy that sound and turn it back on them as a constructive wave, we could destroy them.”

“Sounds good,” Jack said.  He frowned.  “Except…”

“We’ve got no way of transmitting,” she said, shuddering at the thought of finding a child to use.  Doing so would certainly be fatal.

“Of course you have,” Ianto sighed.

“What do you mean?” Donna asked.

Jack stared at him.  He could not get Ianto to look at him.  “Ianto?”

Ianto breathed out, holding his middle.  “Almost every time they’ve transmitted, I’ve followed the signal back to their transmitter.  And I’ve stepped back and done it without Clem a few times, now.  I can carry the signal to them.”

“Absolutely not,” Jack said angrily.

“Toshiko, please set it up,” Ianto said, disregarding Jack.  “Please.  We don’t have much time.”

“Did you not hear me?”

“And you’re not paying attention, Captain,” Ianto said raggedly.  “I’m done, Sir.  I don’t know how long I have.  Owen?”

“Maybe ten minutes,” Owen muttered.  He was still helping to hold Ianto up.  He’d maxed out the painkillers, and it’d barely taken the edge off.  Now that he realized what Ianto had planned, what he had somehow known would happen, all along, he felt ill.

“What the hell happened?” Jack asked.

“The first one through the door.  It broke my charm before you shot it, then slimed me before I could re-cast the charm.”  He shrugged, then cracked a weak grin.  “I accidentally swallowed.”

“You’re dying?” Jack asked, looking distressed.  He still couldn’t get Ianto to look at him.  Owen caught his eye and signed that Ianto’s sight was gone.  Jack stepped forward and took Ianto’s hand.  “It’ll be all right, yeah?”

“You think?” Ianto’s whisper betrayed his fear.  “Don’t know if you noticed, but our bond.  It’s…”

“Shhh.  It’s fine.  And even if it wasn’t, remember.  You have enough vortex in you that you don’t have to worry, okay?”  Jack was praying to all that was sacred and holy that it was the truth.

Ianto nodded, then sniffed.   Jack saw his nose was bleeding, a bit.  He gently held his handkerchief to Ianto’s nose.  “All right.  I am allowing this.  But under serious protest.”

“Just get me over there.  And you’re not allowed to try to do this, with me.  Don’t distract me.”

“All right,” Jack’s voice was still gentle.  He stood Ianto on the platform.  “Are you ready?”

Ianto nodded.  Jack stood in front of him on the platform.  “I love you, Kitten.  I know we’ve had some really bad words the past few days, and I know that’s all on me.  But when you’re back and feeling better, you’re going to do your leggy thing on me and know that we’re all right.  Okay?”

Ianto shook his head, not really believing Jack.  His tears were bloody, and Tosh clapped a hand over her mouth so Ianto would not hear her crying.  Mickey pulled her into his arms. 

Rhys stood with a hand on Gwen’s shoulder.  She turned her head and quietly grumbled, “I don’t see the big deal.  Not like he’ll stay dead.”

“Gwen,” Rhys said, shocked at her callousness.  Clearly the man – their friend – was in pain.

Sadly for her, Donna also heard her.  “He’ll still _feel_ it you cabbage-brained berk,” she quietly seethed in Gwen’s ear.  “In case you didn’t notice, he’s already in agony, and we’re about to make it _so_ much worse.”

Gwen had the good grace to look ashamed of herself. 

Jack gently dried Ianto’s tears, then kissed him gently.  He stepped off the platform.  “Tosh?” he said quietly.

“Ianto, Love, establish your connection, then signal to me, and I’ll send the wave through you, using the platform you’re standing on.  Okay?”

Ianto nodded.  He looked from one grey blob to the next.  “It’s all right.  This is my choice, okay?  I love you guys,” he smiled.  Then he closed his eyes and began gathering his magic around him.  He allowed it to circle and build.  He built it more than he normally would, not knowing how much power he would need to keep the connection as the wave travelled through him.

The others felt the magic building and sparking.  Ianto’s eyes flashed golden as he felt his way to the 4-5-6 ship.  Soon enough, he found the transmitter. 

“Go,” he ground out.

She sobbed and as she reached for the key, Owen, Mickey, Donna, and Jack all took her hand and helped her to press it.  The sonics began to build, and then Ianto threw his head back, screaming out a shrill tone.  Around the world, all of the children joined in, their faces turned to the sky.

Blood began pouring from Ianto’s eyes, nose, and ears.  They were all pushed back several feet by a wave of magic as Ianto transfigured into the wampus cat and refocused his effort to keep the connection.  The Cat was standing on his back legs, his middle forepaws were clutching his torso tightly, and his front forepaws were gripping the rails that were within reach, holding him steady and upright.  The fur on his torso looked scorched, showing vast expanses of burnt skin, beneath.  His head was still thrown back, and the 4-5-6 tone was joined by a ragged howl of pain.

Ianto’s body was in the throes of an agonizing ordeal, even as his mind calmly observed the aliens thrashing about in an agony similar to his own.  They were squishing and shrieking and a good deal of what he could only assume was blood was pouring from each one as it sort of exploded before going still.  He watched through the eyes of the final alien as the navigation system switched over to autopilot and the ship warped towards the sun.

As the last alien burst, Ianto returned to his own mind, almost reluctantly.  It took all of his focus, but he managed to throw himself from the platform.  As he crumpled, he transfigured back and Jack caught him. 

“It’s done,” he rasped.

Tosh quickly turned off the signal.  Around the world, the children went silent. 

“Tracking the ship,” she said, her tears making her voice waver.  “It will impact the sun in…” she paused, deciding not to count.  Then, “They're gone.”

“It’s all right,” Jack whispered.  “You’re all right.  You rest now, Kitten.  You did so well.  I love you, Ianto.  You’re going to be all right.  You’re all right, my Love.”

Ianto found that the pain and fatigue were doing wonders to mask his fear.  He looked at Jack.  His voice was quiet and ragged as he whispered, “Thank you for being so kind.  I do love you, though.”

“I’m so sorry,” Jack whispered, his heart breaking that once more, Ianto lay dying in his arms, doubting Jack’s love for him.

“Ow’n,” Ianto choked.

“Yeah, kiddo.  What is it?” Owen was kneeling beside Jack, who was cradling Ianto in his lap.

“Think I’ll take the rest of those painkillers, now,” he whispered, his breath coming in gasps.

“Yeah.  Okay.”  He ran for the med-bay. 

Jack’s anguished cry told him he didn’t need to rush back with the painkillers, though he did grab a mild sedative for their leader.  It’d been a hell of a few days, and he didn’t think Jack would handle one of Ianto’s deaths (he had no choice but to believe it was temporary) with as much composure as Ianto handled Jack’s.

***

**Author's Note:**

> Some dialogue lifted from CoE.
> 
> Well, the bulk of CoE is done. Now I need to clean up the mess I've made. Strangely, this didn't go how I'd originally planned; but this one just stomped in and was not to be gainsaid.
> 
> Sorry for the cliffhanger, and it might be a few days before I can get the next part composed... 
> 
> Hope you like it - thanks for reading! :D


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